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Darby Xenophones
Darbury Isodorius Sebastian Xenophones Spring 1693 - Empyhra, Alabastra For two hundred years, Diamantine Palace has stood as the pristine image of what Alabastran society strives to be. Located on the waters of a perpetually placid lake, it invokes a feeling of tranquility and elegance. Inside the palace however, the people's beloved and fair Chancellor had just destroyed a 450 year old grand piano, choked a servant half to death, and bitten off three of his own fingers. This was Chancellor Vendicius IV's third major breakdown of the year and by far the most violent. Because of this, The Inner Circle put into action a private initiative to improve their leader's mental wellbeing. They secretly hired a psychologist to live in the palace and work full time at curbing the Chancellor's outbursts. The Inner Circle believed that even more important than getting the Chancellor help, was keeping the initiative secret in the spirit of protecting the good name of the Alabastran throne. To this end, a rigorous selection process was carried out, including background checks focusing on finding a candidate with very few connections to other individuals, and a low impact on their community. After four months of searching, thirty year old divorcee and alienated father, Dr. Darby Xenophones of Carmine was selected for the job. After only a few months of sessions, Xenophones had become a close friend and confidant of The Chancellor's. Their sessions together stretched hours longer than necessary, and the duo began spending time with each other outside of therapy. In time, Vendicius admitted to Xenophones that he had strangled a woman to death in his chambers only a few days after Darby had started working with him. The Chancellor went on to admit to six other murders within the last year, all of whom were men on the Palace staff with very few connections to other individuals, and low impacts on their communities. It was clear he only chose victims within a strict criteria, unlikely to be missed, and it was a criteria in which Darby fit. There is a certain amount of confidentiality one is afforded when speaking to a therapist. Given that Vendicius gave Darby reason to believe he would kill again, and that should he upset the Chancellor he may become a victim himself, the doctor chose to contact The Inner Circle and inform them on the matter. The phone call was brief and foreboding. Darby was not going to be let out unless he had fixed the Chancellor, or died trying. Winter 1694 - Empyhra, Alabastra Xenophones had some success in helping the Chancellor work through his mental breakdowns, but that clarity of mind came with unintended consequences. Chancellor Vendicius' violent ways became more refined, deliberate, and calculated. Although he no longer would maniacally harm himself or trash the palace, his attacks on palace staff were getting more frequent and more sadistic. Xenophones' attempts to talk The Chancellor out of harming people began to illicit more and more threatening responses as Vendicius became more and more aware of the little tricks and techniques Xenophones had been taught to use. The doctor began to fear for his life, and soon started keeping an antique switchblade in his coat during his sessions with The Chancellor. Vendicius was a collector of old knives, and while the doctor would never be allowed to keep a weapon in the palace, Xenophones believed the missing knife would go unnoticed. Later that week, during one of their sessions, the increasingly detached Chancellor asked Xenophones what he intended on doing with the knife. Knowing he was caught, Xenophones told the truth. "You've hurt a lot of people Ven. I won't be a victim." The Chancellor stood up, and chose to end the session early. "Next time we speak, Darby," he said, "I'm going to make you use that knife." The next morning Xenophones stayed in bed until almost noon. He was terrified. Surely Vendicius didn't mean what he said the day prior. Surely they would have a regular therapy session, and go their separate ways at 4:00pm just like every other day. Surely the knife would stay in his coat where he had put it days before. That evening, after having skipped their daily afternoon session, Xenophones finally exited his room, knife drawn. Part of him had expected The Chancellor to have been waiting for him outside of his quarters, but the hallway was empty. He walked down towards the east wing holding the switchblade in front of him, fearing the Chancellor may be around any corner at any moment. Fear took ahold of the doctor and he broke into an all out sprint. He ran all the way across the palace and out into the east garden where The Chancellor enjoyed spending time after dinner. Resting on the edge of a courtyard fountain was the mad chancellor. Xenophones slowly made his way up to Vendicius, and discovered he was asleep. He looked over the aging Chancellor and considered what would happen if he took the chance to kill him now. The Inner Circle would never let him leave this place if he couldn't cure the Chancellor, but Darby had recently accepted the Chancellor was incurable. Because of this, Xenophones had already decided he would die here. "Would it be so bad to stop Vendicius before he has the chance to hurt another person?" Xenophones thought, "Before he has the chance to hurt me?" Darby looked down at his hands and found that he had already plunged the switchblade into The Chancellor's throat. Surely Vendicius didn't mean what he said the day prior. The doctor pulled the blade out, and then thrust it back in. Surely they would have a regular therapy session, and go their separate ways at 4:00pm just like every other day. He pulled it out and stabbed the Chancellor three more times, this time in the face and chest. Surely the knife would stay in his coat where he had put it days before. He stabbed the Chancellor four more times before his body fell backwards into the fountain, staining the water red. In that moment, Xenophones believed he had killed The Chancellor, and was sure he would be executed for the crime. This didn't bother him, as he didn't have much to live for anyway, Darby was a nobody. He was chosen for this job for that very reason. In fact, was not until this very moment that Dr. Darby Xenophones of Carmine became somebody, and in that, he found a small amount of comfort. Whatever lives the Chancellor would have taken in the future, were lives Darby had saved. For the doctor, that was worth the punishment he knew he would now have to endure. Spring 1694 - Empyhra, Alabastra Xenophones had never stabbed anyone in his life. The truth is that he had no idea what he was doing when he attacked The Chancellor, and he failed to actually kill the man. Beyond The Inner Circle, nobody in the world knew what Xenophones knew about the real Chancellor. Because of this, Vendicius garnered massive sympathy amongst his subjects, and Xenophones was quickly branded a traitor and a psychopath. In Alabastra, the death sentence can only be delivered to those guilty of murder. Since the Chancellor had survived, Xenophones was sentenced to prison for the rest of his natural life instead. The Chancellor never made a full recovery, and would die twelve years later from complications that arose from the attack over a decade prior. As the nation mourned the loss, Xenophones' charges were upgraded to murder, and he was sentenced to hang by the neck the following day, after having already served over a decade of prison time. Xenophones hung by the neck for fifteen minutes in the rain before he finally passed out. Satisfied that he was surely dead, the executioner lowered him down and released him from the noose, at which point the doctor awakened, causing reactions of fear and amazement throughout the crowd. The new Chancellor, younger brother to the previous one, motioned to have Xenophones brought back up and hung again, but the executioner refused. "He was sentenced to hang by the neck, and he has carried out his sentence. If you wish to hang him again my lord, he will have to kill someone else first!" Infuriated, the new Chancellor leapt from his chair and rushed the stage, drawing a small revolver from his coat. He pointed the weapon at Xenophones and was promptly struck by lightning, killing him instantly. Before prison, Darby may have considered the coincidence an incredible stroke of luck. But during his twelve year incarceration, Xenophones had found God. In his mind, he had experienced not one, but two acts of divine intervention on his behalf. He was free, thanks to a loophole in Alabastran law, but he was alive thanks to God. Xenophones resolved himself in that moment to discover the reason why God had saved him. To find an explanation for his Providence. In the mean time, a mob had begun to move onto the stage. Believing Darby's survival was either luck or witchcraft, the Empyhran public set themselves upon the doctor. A third act of divine protection came in the form of Mairsil Kess, who leapt onto stage to protect the doctor from the mob. The duo fought their way out and escaped south across the border into Blackrift. There, the duo agreed to work together. Kess needed spiritual guidance, and the infamous Xenophones needed protection and training. The two set off on a religious pilgrimage, dedicating themselves to each other and to god. Though they disagreed on some fundamentals of spirituality, they respected each other's views, and set off on a journey to find the thirteen legendary blades, believing they would find God as well along the way.